-Banking. "My Wells Fargo app," said Tyra Lee of New Jersey. "I need to know how much money I have so I can spend some money." The free app (Apple, Androd, BlackBerry) tracks deposits and balances, and lets you pay bills and transfer funds.

- Video communication.Tango, for making free video calls with Apple, Android or Windows phones. "I watch my baby when I'm at work," says Javier Crespo of Los Angeles. "That's a plus for me. We Tango live on the Internet. If you have Wi-Fi it's pretty good, you don't even need service on the phone."

- Life cycle monitoring. "I found out I was pregnant" with the iPeriod app ($1.99, Apple), says Holly Leclair of Los Angeles. "You track your menstrual cycles. Occasionally, you're like, oh, I'm not....you know. where I should be." And that's how she found out.

- Navigation. "I'm in sales, so I use a lot of navigation apps," says Robert Andrushko, of Frederick, Md. "I like (Telenav's) Scout - and Google Maps." The Scout GPS app is free for Apple and Android, but comes with a $24.99 yearly subscription.

- Sports news. "The one that tells me sports scores," says Henry Miller of Wichita, Kansas. His sports app of choice: Yahoo Sports (formerly known as Sportacular.) Free for Apple and Android.

- Religion. Lifechurch.tv's free "The Bible" app for Apple and Android. "It's a really good app," says Nathan Maldona of Los Angeles. The advantage of reading the Bible - with its many, many pages - on the phone: "You can read it in the dark."

- Fun. Photo snapping-and-sharing app Instagram. "Because I stalk people's lives and they stalk my life," says Asha Lee." Student Valerie Cordill likes Snapchat, the app that takes photos that disappear within 10 seconds. An essential? "I go to school, so it's a good way to keep in contact with school friends while we're on summer vacation," she says. "I miss their faces."